Beauty
by TigerShadow
Summary: She thought no one would ever love her, no one would think her beautiful. Oh, how wrong she was. -SeamusLavender-


She gazed at her reflection in the small mirror in her hand, growing steadily more downcast. _Why?_ Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it have been some other wizard who had attacked her? Why him?

The Great Hall was filled with raucous noise and cheers; hardly a surprise. After all, it had only been a few minutes ago when Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort, the most powerful Dark wizard of all time, against all possible odds. Certainly, people were going to celebrate—but she couldn't.

She folded her arms on the table in front of her and rested her head on top of them. A single tear rolled down her scarred cheek, and she squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to let them fall. Never…never again would anyone call her beautiful. Never again would people find anything remotely attractive about her. She would always be an ugly girl with a mauled face, just another testament to the horrors of war.

Not particularly appealing, being a statistic.

Just then, a quiet voice murmured her name, and the familiar, distinctive, thick Irish accent told her who it was. "Lavender? Lavender, are…are you alright?"

"Oh, yes." She kept her head in her arms, staring straight ahead, refusing to look at him. "I'm fine. Great. Positively spiffing."

She had not wanted to sound so prickly. The truth of the matter was that she wanted to at least be able to talk to someone. She just wished she didn't have to talk to someone in this state…_her _state now. The idea made a lump form in her throat, and she forced back a few more tears.

Fortunately, Seamus Finnigan was not the type to give up so easily. "You're not 'fine,' Lavender." He hesitated for a moment, then slid onto the seat next to her. "What…what happened? Come on, Lav." Lav…no one had called her that in a long time, and certainly not Seamus. "Look at me. Please."

Suddenly, furiously, she jerked her head up and whipped it around, glaring at him. "Is this what you wanted to see?" she snarled. He stared back at her, eyes round as saucers. "Yeah…it's not exactly pretty, is it?" she continued bitterly.

"Who did this to you?" he whispered, anger beginning to glow in his eyes.

"Greyback." Her voice became dull again, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. "I was out there, fighting with the rest of the school. I…I don't know where he came from, but suddenly he…he just appeared. I ran when I saw him, he was so awful…some sort of curse hit me and threw me against the wall. He…he went for me…my face…" She shuddered, the horror and agony certainly not yet a distant memory. Someone—I think I heard Hermione Granger—sent him off me…some sort of Blasting Curse—and he flew off me and then…well, I don't remember anything after that, except for waking up and seeing Madam Pomfrey…" She broke off, again choking back tears.

"What else? Do you remember anything after that?" Seamus coaxed.

She heaved a sigh mixed with a sob. "She told me that…that I was lucky to be alive…that I would be scarred for the rest of my life…" She couldn't hold back any longer. She sobbed unrestrainedly, throwing her head into her arms. "And all I'll ever be is a hideous girl with scars everywhere and no one will ever think I'm beautiful again and…and…" She could no longer speak, but simply sat there, body racking with sobs.

Seamus put an arm around her and said nothing, simply listening to her crying for a long moment.

"You're wrong," he murmured at last.

She sniffed, wiped her eyes and nose, and then looked up at him. "Excuse me?"

"I said you're wrong." He reached forward and tilted her chin up to look her full in the face. "About no one thinking you're pretty." He took a deep breath and continued. "I do."

Her breath hitched in her throat. "Y-you…really?"

He nodded. "You'll never be just a hideous girl to me. You're a beautiful girl, and a true Gryffindor. These scars prove it."

She lowered her head. "No. They don't. A Gryffindor is supposed to be _brave_, Seamus. I was just running for my life and then he…he got to me…I deserved it," she added bitterly. "I deserved it for being such a coward."

"You did not." The sharpness in his voice shocked her a little. "You are not a coward, Lavender. You were willing to fight for Hogwarts, even though you were given the option not to. You still faced Death Eaters when other people would have run. You are a true Gryffindor and these scars show it. That's…that's how they're beautiful."

Lavender stared at him in amazement. She wondered what in the world his motivation was, why he had chosen to tell this to _her_ of all people, but she didn't ask. She was more or less just surprised that this was Seamus Finnigan telling her this, that she was still beautiful, even though the scars lacing across her face and neck surely showed otherwise.

Finally she found her voice. "Do you…do you think so?"

He nodded. "I know it."

After wondering for a moment what to do, Lavender flung her arms around his neck. She didn't say anything—she didn't have to. Instead she held him close to her, and he returned the embrace, neither of them wanting to let go until they absolutely had to.

Even with the aftermath, the effects of the horrors of war, things still remained to be loved and cherished and hoped for.

And maybe, just maybe, Lavender Brown could start to become whole and beautiful again.

* * *

><p>I don't know what it is, but I like Lavender. I don't know what it is about her, but I enjoy delving into this particular event and what it might have done to her character (yeah, "Won-Won" was irritating, but come on...like it was going to end that way). I also enjoy the LavenderSeamus pairing. Seamus here...d'awww.

Please do me a favor and review. I do so love reviews; they're like little sprinkles of joy.


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